Friday, August 29, 2008

Hawthorne Huddle: September 4th!

Please join us at the Hawthorne Huddle on Thursday, September 4th when we will hear from two non-partisan organizations about the upcoming primary and general elections. Experts from the Minneapolis League of Women Voters and the Citizens League will share information on how to register to vote, as well as discuss the different races this fall and the referenda that will impact our community and state. This is an exciting year, and we hope you join in this important discussion.

The Hawthorne Huddle will be held from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room at Farview Park, located at 621 29th Avenue North. A continental breakfast will be available at 7:15 a.m.


A G E N D A

 WELCOME Ellen Luger, General Mills Foundation
 SAFETY UPDATE Minneapolis Police Department 4th Precinct Representative
 MAIN PROGRAM TOPIC: Fall 2008 Elections

Panelists:
• Melissa Metzler, Outreach Coordinator, Minneapolis League of Women Voters
• Lee Anderson, Vice Chair, Citizens League

 ADJOURNMENT

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Reminder: Hawthorne Annual Dinner: Sept. 25th

This year’s annual meeting will take place at Farview Park on Thursday, September 25th!

The evening will start at 6 PM and our special keynote speaker is Inspector Mike Martin of the City of Minneapolis Police Department who will speak on a variety of issues and his experiences with the city and our community.

This is a free dinner for the community and all residents, businesses and other community stake holders are invited to join us as we take a look at
our year in review and give our annual report to the community. Daycare will be provided that evening for families, but please RSVP by September 15th if possible.

There will be door prizes, entertainment, and other special activities and give-aways.

The annual meeting is also important because this is the opportunity to vote in new members to the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council board of directors. There are seats open in all 4 residential quadrants, as well as at-large and other special positions, including seats to represent business,
non-profit and youth interests in our community.

If you are interested in becoming a board member, there’s still time to apply. Just contact HNC and let us know by calling our office at (612) 529-6033 or e-mail HNC at chair@hawthornecommunity.org.

As A Reminder: No Business Committee Meeting This Friday

As a reminder: There is no Business Committee Meeting this Friday. It was convened last Friday, August 22nd. The next meeting is Friday, September 26th. Thank you!

Hawthorne Visits Nelly Stone Johnson!



On Wednesday, August 27th, the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council was pleased to join the Nelly Stone Johnson School at their open house to welcome new students and families. Our staff promoted the upcoming annual dinner and connected with several other positive non-profit organizations working with Hawthorne families to discuss future ways to meet our community needs. We also handed out free pencils and pencil sharpeners, as well as books and other supplies to the children. Good luck to all of the students and families! Study hard!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hawthorne REACHOUTABOUT

The Hawthorne Neighborhood Council is making some big changes for 2009 to help non-profit organizations in Minnesota connect strategically with residents, businesses and other stakeholders in our neighborhood of over 6,000 people from all walks of life who want to make this a great neighborhood to live in.

If you're a non-profit organization interested in discussing outreach opportunities in the Hawthorne neighborhood, we'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line at (612) 529-6033 or e-mail our communications director, Bryan Thao Worra at bworra@hawthornecommunity.org!

We still have a very open calendar in 2009 and would love to connect with you about the possibilities!

McKnight 2nd Annual Neighborhood Outreach Gathering




The McKnight Foundation celebrated the innovative outreach efforts of neighborhood organizations in the Twin Cities on August 26th at their headquarters, including a celebratory barbecue at the end of the day.

Among the key programs highlighted this year:

APAC's Alliance for Change was held to judge the scope of the threat MNDot road projects posed to affordable housing in the Twin Cities, especially in the form of manufactured housing. They also worked with CURA to develop a GIS map to identify other communities that may be threatened, and working on their project they developed and documented successful organizing strategies to confrotnt displacement policies.

Harrison Hmong high school summer organizers have used bingo over the last 2 years to help Hmong residents identify top neighborhood concerns, take on safety and park issues and connect Hmong families with Harrison block leaders and board members. They explained how to squeeze 60 Hmong into a room designed for a dozen people and other amazing skills in community organizing.

Lyndale Youth and Family Safety Initiative is a collaboration between Lyndale Neighborhood Association and the Youth Farm and Market Project to address public safety issues facing youth and familines living around Horn Towers. Neighborhood Art on Wheels complements and adds to the initiative by developing connections between community members and the area around Horn Towers and the gardens.

Seward wanted to create a master plan for the Franklin Avenue Corridor that reflects the expertise/knowledge, vision and values of the community. The goal was to engage as many people as possible in different ways and create an organic model of interaction. They used community walks, community-wide meetings and task forces to engage residents over several months of planning. A draft of work to date includes core values documents and vignettes of implementation strategies in each focus area.

Little Earth spoke out against efforts to bring the Phillips burner to their community to keep the pollution the burner would have brought to their community from sickening their children.

West Side Citizens Organization created a project connecting a neighbor who had done fishing clinics all over the country with West Side youth and families to an understanding of our natural environment. Over 200 youth fished, met neighbors and connected with the neighborhood lake. As an incentive, WSCO gave away free fishing poles to youth participants and one free bike, rigged with a fishing pole carrier.

Leadership in Support of Neighborhoods develops the talents of emerging community leaders who are committed to strengthening the Hamline Midway (District 11) and/or Thomad-Dale (District 7) neighborhoods of Saint Paul through a year-long program that combines twice monthly peer sessions, staff support and the design and implementation of a community-based-project. Currently 12 Fellows are participating in the program, organizing projects including: backyard chicken raising, a neighborhood health festival, a folk music festival, a local food group and an environmental issues group.

Harrison Neighborhood Association has worked for years to get a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for Bassett Creek redevelopment. During this year's presentation, they discussed the nuts and bolts of developing and negotiating a community benefits agreement, and the advantages and potential pitfalls of such a process.

Latinos En Accion. The group works to address the needs of Latina women in Corcoran, Powderhorn Park and Longfellow neighborhoods. The group meets in the Park building each week to share a pot-luck meal, discuss issues facing Latina women, develop basic computer skills such as sending e-mail, enjoy an aeorbics session aimed at improving overall health and plan the next meeting. They also invite speakers on topics of interest such as child immunizations. They have removed access barriers to Powderhorn Park, improved community connections, built valuable skills among group members and encouraged park staff to hire a Spanish speaking staff member.

Longfellow Community Council was the first in Minneapolis to reach a Community Benefits Agreement with old Purina Mills site in their neighborhood and offered insightful perspectives on negotiating an effective CBA in other neighborhoods.

District 7 in Saint Paul is using GIS and GPS technology with community organizing to sustain good communication with residents. They use the technology to quanitfy the results of doork-knocking to organize the community. They partnered with U-Plan, a community planning studio, to help create interactive maps with current GIS data and grassroots field data.

From a Hawthorne neighborhood perspective, which of these would you be interested in hearing about in the future for similar activities within our neighborhood?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Hawthorne Tree Nursery Arrives!



Hawthorne now has a special tree nursery near our EcoVillage project, one of the key steps in creating a livable, ecologically and environmentally sound neighborhood environment. During the groundbreaking ceremony in August, we received visits and support from our community partners as well as Mayor Rybak and City Council member Diane Hofstede! Thanks go to all of our amazing supporters and we look forward to keeping all of you up to date on the next important steps in making the Hawthorne neighborhood a great place to live!

Minneapolis Issues Picnic A Success

On Friday, August 22nd, community residents from across Minneapolis met in the Hawthorne Neighorhood to celebrate community and discuss key issues affecting the quality of life in our neighborhoods. The picnic provided a great atmosphere for friendly conversation.



A big thanks to everyone who came to participate and help make it the success it was!

Annual Meeting: September 25th!

This year’s annual meeting will take place at Farview Park on Thursday, September 25th!

The evening will start at 6 PM and our special keynote speaker is Inspector Mike Martin of the City of Minneapolis Police Department who will speak on a variety of issues and his experiences with the city and our community.

This is a free dinner for the community and all residents, businesses and other community stake holders are invited to join us as we take a look at
our year in review and give our annual report to the community. Daycare will be provided that evening for families, but please RSVP by September 15th if possible.

There will be door prizes, entertainment, and other special activities and give-aways.

The annual meeting is also important because this is the opportunity to vote in new members to the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council board of directors. There are seats open in all 4 residential quadrants, as well as at-large and other special positions, including seats to represent business,
non-profit and youth interests in our community.

If you are interested in becoming a board member, there’s still time to apply. Just contact HNC and let us know by calling our office at (612) 529-6033 or e-mail HNC at chair@hawthornecommunity.org.

Your participation really makes a difference in determining future directions for our organization.

Please be sure to invite your friends and family to come participate. More details will be posted online soon.

Hawthorne visited by national authors

This July, the Hawthorne neighborhood was visited by two nationally acclaimed authors.

New York-based writer Ed Lin, author of the novels Waylaid and This Is A Bust, and Chicago-based Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, author of The Shadow Speaker and Zahrah the Windseeker came to see our neighborhood.


The two were in Minneapolis to read from their latest books. The authors took a tour of the Hawthorne neighborhood including our EcoVillage project and other local landmarks.


Both found the Hawthorne neighborhood to be quite interesting and look forward to the next time they can come to visit more with the residents and see the best that Minnesota has to offer.

We look forward to future visits from other artists and authors to our community in the future.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Hawthorne Business Committee: August 22nd

As a reminder, due to the August holiday weekend, this month's Hawthorne Business Committee Meeting is this Friday, August 22nd at 8:30 AM at US Bank, 1030 W. Broadway and we look forward to seeing you there.

On the agenda:

Facade Improvement Update. Hawthorne has money available to help you improve your business facade! Find out how.

The new Hawthorne Business Social Hour. We'll soon be convening special gatherings for Hawthorne businesses and professionals, and we'd like your input.

Meet Our New Executive Director. Laban Ohito will be present to meet you and hear your interests and concerns for business growth and development in the Hawthorne neighborhood!

Board Positions available on the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council: Next month's Hawthorne Annual Meeting also includes our board of director elections, and a seat is available for a Hawthorne business representative. Find out how you can get involved to help take the Hawthorne Neighborhood in a great direction.

2009 Strategies: Where have we been, and where would we like to go?

Northside Chess Tournament Followup: What happened, and what's next?

Step-Up Achieve Review: We'll hear about the results from this year's Step-Up Achieve partners and their youth interns, and what's next.

Additional business.

We look forward to seeing you there!

August Board Meeting Canceled

Due to conflicts of schedule, this month's board meeting has been canceled.
The next board meeting is scheduled for September 11th, 2008. For additional questions, please feel free to call us at (612) 529-6033.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Crime and Safety Meeting: Monday at 7 PM

The Hawthorne Crime and Safety Committee Meeting is this Monday at 7PM - 9 PM at Farview Park. Our agenda this month:

Introductions
4th Precinct Reports
August 21st Popsicle Social
Problem Addresses
New Business
Buy Back Contract
Staff Report on NRP Crime and Safety Funds and NRP overall
Adjourn

Monday, August 04, 2008

This week at Hawthorne:

The Hawthorne Neighborhood Council invites the community to the Hawthorne Huddle on Thursday, August 7th at 7:30 AM at Farview Park and welcomes the community to National Night Out on Tuesday, August 5th around the neighborhood.

We look forward to seeing you all there as we celebrate community!

Hawthorne Huddle This Thursday!

Please join us at the Hawthorne Huddle on Thursday, August 7th.

During this time of year, many of us start to think about what is just around the corner -- the beginning of the school year and all the excitement and preparation that entails. Students and the schools that they attend both need the community’s assistance to provide optimum learning experiences for the students. We will hear from representatives of the Minneapolis Public Schools about their priorities aimed at helping students achieve a high level of success at school. We also will learn from the panelists what we all can do to support the schools and the students throughout the upcoming school year.

The Hawthorne Huddle will be held from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room at Farview Park, located at 621 29th Avenue North. A continental breakfast will be available at 7:15 a.m. We hope you can attend and participate in the discussion.

A G E N D A

WELCOME Ellen Luger, General Mills Foundation

Safety update Minneapolis Police Department 4th Precinct Representative

MAIN PROGRAM TOPICS: BACK TO SCHOOL
Panelists:
Eleanor Coleman, Minneapolis District
Catherine Jordan, Achieve!Minneapolis
Lydia Lee, Minneapolis Public Schools Board Member
Nichole Randolph, Nellie Stone Johnson Community and Parent Liaison
Assistant Principal, Nellie Stone Johnson School